


Adamantine

by moneill0775



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: All-Knowing Balin, Alpha Dwalin, Alpha Nori, Alpha Thorin, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amused Gandalf, Angst, Awesome Bofur, Awesome Frerin, Awesome Galadriel, Beta Balin, Beta Dori, Beta/Beta, Bonding, Bottom Bilbo Baggins, Brothers Dori and Nori and Ori, Dorms, Dwalin Is A Softie, Feels, Fluff, Freedom, Gay Sex, Kissing, Leaving Home, Legal Documents, M/M, Mother Hen Dori, Omega Bilbo Baggins, Omega Bofur, Omega Frerin, Omega Ori - Freeform, Ori Is A Sweetheart, Protective Dori, Protective Dwalin, Protective Thorin, Running Away, Shy Bilbo Baggins, The Valar as Teachers, Top Thorin, University, emancipation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-04-27 15:25:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5053957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moneill0775/pseuds/moneill0775
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adamantine: (noun) 1. something unbreakable; a legendary metal that was impenetrable<br/>(adjective) 2. unbreakable</p>
<p>Omegas are property. They have their papers, and they can be bought and sold as collateral by their families, and it is a common practice. Omegas have been discriminated against in the past, seen as property and as inferior, but times are changing, slowly but surely, with many resistance groups popping up to stand up for Omegas' rights. Bilbo Baggins, the orphan of Bag End, has never been sold by his Aunt Lobelia, but he knows that she wouldn't hesitate to sign him over to her Alpha son Lotho if it guaranteed her Bag End. He has never been sold, but he hasn't been legally emancipated either. Bilbo, using his mother's Tookish courage, steals away in the night with a forged copy of emancipation papers and an acceptance letter to Arda International University. Bilbo wants to finish his education, but more desperately, he wants to taste freedom for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Bilbo Baggins was many things: a photophile, a logophile, a bibliophile, a pogonophile, a stigmatophile, and a pistoriphile, just to name a few. He was also an Omega, and that was probably the most obvious thing about him, according to the scent that he gave off.

Orphaned at the age of ten, he’d lived with his grandfather until Aunt Lobelia, the greedy Alpha that she was, had decided that she wanted Bilbo, and Bilbo’s inheritance, for herself. At thirteen, Bilbo found himself in Lobelia’s “care” after she charmed Geronitus Took into letting her care for her “poor nephew Bilbo.” As astute as he was, fell into that trap easily, Geronitus had, and in Lobelia’s care Bilbo had stayed, in a prison where he was easily forgotten. Five years into his imprisonment, at the age of eighteen, Bilbo had managed to get his aunt and uncle to agree to let him go to the community college in Bree; it was close enough to their home that he still lived there and they could keep an eye on him. It was a small chance for some freedom, to get out from under Lobelia’s thumb for a few hours a day, and Bilbo had taken it.

Two years later, with an Associate’s Degree under his belt (or more accurately, in a nice frame on his wall), Bilbo wanted to go farther. He had found a few universities that accepted Omegas, and he wanted to get out of the Shire. Part of the reason was because the Shire didn’t have any four-year universities, but the other reason, the bigger reason, was to get away from his aunt.

Bilbo was old enough now, at twenty, to have control over the money and the house, Bag End, which his parents had left him in their will. His “guardians,” as Uncle Otho and Aunt Lobelia had proclaimed themselves to be, didn’t believe him to be capable to having control over his inheritance. They argued constantly with his aging grandfather that he, Bilbo, should not live by himself. He was, in their own words, “too fragile for an independent life away from a stable Alpha presence.” Bilbo had heard it often enough that sometimes pages of his journal were filled with those words. Had they known that Bilbo had actually been accepted into a university, and that he would be attending that fall with or without their permission, he would’ve been put on permanent lock down.

It was cowardly, in a way, Bilbo supposed as he hurried around his room, picking up stray clothing and throwing it into his duffel bag on the bed. His room had more or less been stripped bare of the meager possessions that Bilbo had dared to keep over the years. He had a duffel bag stuffed full of his limited wardrobe, all his books tucked into a child’s suitcase. On top of all the clothes in his duffel bag, Bilbo had placed the one picture he had kept of his parents, one that had been kept hidden in the top drawer of his desk. And on top of that picture, the lone pillow that had been on his bed. He glanced around once, seeing that almost everything that could be taken was put into the duffel or the suitcase. The phone that had been “gifted” to him by Lobelia was in the middle of the bed, a sort of mocking tribute to his aunt and uncle, who thought that he wouldn’t know that the phone had a tracking device implanted in it. He might be an Omega, but he wasn’t stupid by any stretch of the means. Bilbo wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore though, the fear that they could track him if he ran away would be gone soon enough, once he got to the university.

Suddenly forgetful, Bilbo dug into the satchel that was slung over his shoulder, pulling out the acceptance letter from the mess of papers that were compiled in it. He’d worked hard to hide the letter, going so far as to use a neighbor’s address instead of his own.

Hamfast Gamgee and his parents lived in the house next to Bag End, keeping the gardens and landscaping from becoming a jungle until someone came to live there again. Hamfast, the dear Beta friend that he was to Bilbo, had always found it puzzling as to why Omegas needed to be hidden away from the world. The Omega had attempted to explain to him about being rare and unique, but Hamfast had only shrugged and said, “Some other objects and artifacts are rare, too, but instead they end up bein’ sent around the world, to different museums and whatnot, so that everyone can have a good look at ‘em.”

Despite his unassuming, Arcadian nature, Bilbo still loved him dearly as the only friend that he had managed to keep over the years. And now, Bilbo owed Hamfast. He hadn’t turned him in to his aunt or uncle, and he owed him doubly for helping him escape and driving him the five hours to the school.

Bilbo read over the letter once, twice, and a third time just to make sure he hadn’t been dreaming when he had read the words “Congratulations, you have been accepted…” He hadn’t. Unlike most other universities out there, Arda International University welcomed Alphas, Betas, and Omegas alike with open arms (or at least Bilbo hoped that it was with less hostility than other places). It wasn’t likely, however, that there would be a lot of Omegas there; most of them were kept in the home or near their families. Bilbo couldn’t deny it, that he had thought about staying behind in the old Victorian that had become his prison; prison it may have been, but it provided the shelter that Omegas sought after.

The Baggins side of him, from his father, found that rather comforting, but the Tookish blood from his mother had won the battle. His mother had been Belladonna Took, and would continue to be long after she married Bungo Baggins, and she was an adventurer. She wouldn’t let herself be held down because she was an Omega; she had still traveled, leaving the Shire behind for almost ten years before coming back. She hadn’t let the fact that she was an Omega affect her want, her need, to travel far behind her hometown, and she would have wanted Bilbo to be the same way.

And so, Bilbo was going.

Bilbo immediately stuffed the acceptance letter back into his satchel when he heard shuffling from upstairs. Lotho, Lobelia and Otho’s Alpha son, and Bilbo’s future mate if they had anything to say about it, had his bedroom right about Bilbo’s and damned if the ceiling wasn’t thin enough for them to hear even the slightest bump or groan from the other. He stilled almost instantly, standing there next to his bed as he waited for it to get quiet again. He nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone gave a little buzz, the screen lighting up with a new text message from Hamfast. Bilbo snatched up the phone and briefly glanced at the text: “I’m here.” He nodded to himself and deleted the text, not wanting his friend to be blamed once he was found to be gone by Lobelia and Otho.

_Leaving in the dead of night_ , Bilbo thought as he shoved his window wide open. _How utterly cliché_. He looked back once to double check that his door was locked; it was, but he shoved a chair beneath the door knob for good measure. Gods knew that he didn’t want to suddenly find out that Lobelia had a spare key to his room.

He snatched up the duffel, setting it on top of the desk along with the small suitcase before he tightened the strap on his satchel. He was climbing up onto the desk beneath the window when he suddenly realized that he’d forgotten shoes. All the shoes that he owned (which was really like two pairs) were at the bottom of the duffel bag. He tried to rationalize with himself that no shoes were a good thing, that they would have only caused extra noise, but they also would have prevented his feet from getting cold. However, if it was between getting cold feet and getting caught by his aunt, he would have gone buck naked if it would have helped him in his plight.

Bilbo hefted the duffel bag out of the open window, being thankful for the umpteenth time that his bedroom was on the ground floor. He heard Hamfast grunt as he carried it to his truck, Bilbo not even waiting until he came back before pushing the suitcase out the window as well. He heard it hit the bush just outside and flinched, putting a hand over his mouth to hold in a gasp, hoping that Lotho was a light sleeper. Three minutes (or was it five minutes?) later, Bilbo was certain, or at least seventy-eight percent sure that no one was woken up by the suitcase, and that Hamfast was now just waiting for him to hurry the hell up out of the house.

Bilbo quickly clambered up onto the window sill, swinging one of his legs out so that he was straddling the window. He was short enough that the leg inside the house didn’t touch the desk and leg outside the house didn’t even graze over the top of the bush. Yes, he was short, but he actually quite liked his height, thank you very much.

He spared a glance around his room, for some reason wanting to remember his prison. Hamfast tugged impatiently on his pant leg, reminding Bilbo of a young child trying to gain his parents’ attention. He would have chuckled, but Hamfast’s message was clear: _Hurry the hell up_. Bilbo nodded quickly, taking what was probably the last of his Tookish courage, and dropping out of the window, landing ass first in the bush that he had recently cursed not too long ago. With a whimper, a curse, and a hand from his Beta friend, Bilbo was up and moving quickly, hand tight on the satchel’s strap as he rushed towards the car. He could already hear Aunt Lobelia ranting and raving in his mind, could feel her and Otho’s restraining hands as he fought to escape their grip on his freedom.

He rushed around the front of Hamfast’s truck, diving into the passenger side seat as he saw the light in Lotho’s window. Hamfast hurried into the driver’s seat and hurriedly tried to start the car, swearing roundly as it wouldn’t start up. Bilbo’s mind went into overdrive, a thousand and one scenarios running through his mind of what could happen if the truck didn’t start: Lobelia would kill him, his inheritance would be stripped away, the Sackville-Bagginses would finally have Bag End for themselves.

Bilbo shook his head, trying to clear his mind of those negative thoughts as Hamfast smacked the steering wheel, muttering under his breath. Bilbo clenched his hand tightly on the armrest as the other hand moved up to grab the seatbelt. The Omega whispered prayers to gods that he didn’t even know in that moment, begging one of them, any of them, to help him escape.

The car started. Hamfast cheered and gunned the engine, driving out of there like a bat out of hell. The tires screeched slightly in protest, and there were most assuredly skid marks on the road, but Bilbo didn’t look back to check. He couldn’t look back. If he did, it would just bite him in the ass, just like everything else always did. Karma would be laughing maniacally in the background as Lobelia sped after him, and with the cops right behind her.

Bilbo couldn’t breathe, wouldn’t allow himself to breathe even as Hamfast put his hand over Bilbo’s, rubbing his thumb over his wrist. The Beta tried his best to infuse a calming aura in the interior of the car, but his aura was too weak to begin with, too weak for an Omega in overdrive. Bilbo swallowed loudly and huddled in his seat, his hands clenched tightly in his lap as he looked out the window, watching the world he knew, the Shire, passing by before his eyes.

They had reached Bree after a forty-five minutes of silence in the car, the quiet only being broken by Bilbo’s shaky breaths and Hamfast’s fingers occasionally drumming on the steering wheel. Bilbo couldn’t breathe right, wouldn’t breathe right, not until he knew he was safe from his aunt. At the outskirts of the Shire, he might be able to breathe, to finally be out of jurisdiction where the police force knew him and where there was a distinct possibility that he would be returned to Lobelia. He held his breath as Hamfast passed the county line. He blinked a few times, wanting to remember the words “Now Leaving Shire County,” wanting to remember that he would only return when he wanted to.

“We’re okay now, Bilbo,” Hamfast murmured, still rubbing soothing circles into his friend’s wrist. “We’re okay now.”

And then, Bilbo breathed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! First shot at a fanfic, and I'm kind of combining the Alpha/Beta/Omega world with a Modern University AU. So, some new words, for those you don't know:  
> Photophile- a person who loves light  
> Logophile- a person who loves words  
> Bibliophile- a lover of books  
> Pogonophile- a person who loves beards  
> Stigmatophile- a person who loves tattoos, piercings  
> Pistoriophile- a lover of baking, baked goods  
> So, all of these characters belong to Tolkien (or at least the obvious ones do, as I do have some OCs). I know for sure that Fili will be in this fic, but most likely as a really really young baby, still in Dis' stomach, most likely. Kili will most likely not be in it, because I am thinking about doing a "second generation" sort of fic after this one, and I want the characters to, once again, be in college. That fic will include Fili, Kili, Legolas, Gimli, Tauriel, etc. etc. So yeah, hope you enjoy this. It will get less boring, I promise.


	2. Chapter One

            Have you ever looked at someone and thought: _Yep…you have a person in your basement._ Bilbo hadn’t known that feeling, save perhaps of his Aunt Lobelia wherein he was locked in her house. Or at least, Bilbo hadn’t known that feeling until he had arrived at Arda International University.

            The Beta at the check-in desk was rather off-putting, if Bilbo were being polite about it. Smeagol, as he had introduced himself, was now glancing between the Omega and his paperwork quickly, as if trying to determine if he could find any faults in it. Hamfast had had to leave almost as soon as he had dropped of Bilbo. He had sped out of the parking lot, trying to talk to his clearly angry mother over the phone while Bilbo had stood there, torn between laughing at his friend and worrying that he was now alone in unknown territory.

            The air was heavily permeated with the scents of Alphas and Betas, but there was no distinct scent of any other Omega that he could easily make out. Bilbo grimaced, holding his satchel tighter to him as he shuffled away from an Alpha who passed too close. He waited anxiously for Smeagol to finish up, wanting to get out before he got overwhelmed again.

            He’d had enough scares for one day, thank you very much.

            He swallowed a squeak as Smeagol suddenly looked at him again before smiling toothily. Bilbo resisted the urge to look away; the Beta looked slimy and just a bit disturbed, and Bilbo would bet that the person he was most assuredly keeping in his basement did not go there willingly.

            “Your paperwork seems to be in order, precious,” the man said in a hoarse voice. He leaned forward slowly as Bilbo leaned away in return. “We hopes that you enjoy your times here.”

            Bilbo nodded and smiled weakly, replying, “I’m sure that I will enjoy my time here, thank you.”

            Smeagol let out a laugh, well more of a bark really. Bilbo almost let out another squeak as he stood up abruptly, his chair scraping across the floor. “Oh, yous is good, precious! You will be good here!”

            Bilbo frowned in confusion, his brow furrowing as he opened his mouth to question what Smeagol meant by any of that. Then, his view was blocked. A tall man, at least six foot one or so, was now standing in front of him, his hands on the check-in table as he leaned forward.

            “Smeagol, has Bilbo Baggins checked in yet?” the man asked slowly, as if talking to a child. _Or a psychopath,_ Bilbo thought privately. “He’s due to move in today.”

            Smeagol tapped his chin before he closed his eyes and thought hard, his teeth clenching tightly. His big blue eyes flew open and he nodded eagerly, clapping his hands as he did a slight dance, saying eagerly, “Yesh! Yesh! We has seen Bagginses!”

He pointed a bony finger at Bilbo then and cried out shrilly, “There he is, precious! There is Bagginses!”

The other man turned around, his long black braid like a whip as he faced Bilbo quickly. He quirked a brow at him as Bilbo stared openly. The man smelt of Omega under all of the other scents that were still saturating the air, but he didn’t look like any of the Omegas back in Hobbiton and Shire County. He had long legs and he towered over Bilbo by almost eight or nine inches, whereas most of the Omegas that Bilbo had known were short and a bit plump, much like Bilbo himself, granted he was marginally slimmer than most others that he seen.

            “Are you Bilbo Baggins?” the other Omega asked politely.

            Bilbo nodded his head quickly, hoping that this man would take him away from the crazy Beta, and just the craziness of move-in day in general.

            He smiled easily and held out a hand. “Elrond Peredhil, at your service, Master Baggins. I’m one of the RAs at the Omega dorm.”

            Bilbo smiled gratefully and shook Elrond’s proffered hand. “Bilbo Baggins, at yours.”

            Elrond nodded once and then looked down at Bilbo’s luggage. “Is this all you have?” he inquired quietly.

            Bilbo bit his lip and nodded again. Elrond looked at him then, but there was no pity or contempt in his gaze; he looked slightly sympathetic if anything. He didn’t say anything about it though, simply nodded and reached down, taking the duffel.

            “Well, Mr. Baggins, if you would follow me, I will take you to your room.”

            “It’s Bilbo, please, Mr. Peredhil,” he implored quietly as he followed the other Omega out of the building and out onto the quad.

            Elrond looked over at him and murmured, “Then you must call me Elrond.”

            Bilbo smiled and nodded once as he walked, opting to carry his suitcase rather than roll it around as he hurried to match Elrond’s long strides. It had only been silent for about four seconds before Elrond spoke again.

            “So, where are you from, Bilbo?” he asked, sparing a glance down at him.

            “Hobbiton, in Shire County.” Bilbo immediately regretted saying that. _Oh, shit, what if I’ve just given myself away. They’ll send me back to Lobelia for sure if they find out!_ He swallowed and asked then, “And where do you hale from, if I may ask?”

            Elrond chuckled and said, “You may. I am from Rivendell. And since you are from Hobbiton, I presume that would make you a Hobbit, yes?”

            Bilbo allowed himself a small laugh. Many of the other cities and counties had taken to calling people from the Shire, particularly from Hobbiton, Hobbits. Most of the residents in the Shire considered it to be affectionate, as many of them were rather short, and Bilbo had rarely seen a Hobbit more than five foot ten, and certainly not over six feet tall.

            “Yes, it would,” Bilbo murmured easily. He looked around, finding that they were heading towards the edge of campus, away from a lot of the noise and the overpowering scents of the many other students.

            It got progressively quieter as they got further away from the hub of the campus, soothing Bilbo’s nerves a little bit. Bilbo glanced up at Elrond shyly.

            “Why did you come here for university?” Bilbo blurted out suddenly, inwardly cursing his Tookish tongue. “I’ve heard that Rivendell University is beautiful and has a great program for Omegas. Not only that, but I heard that their libraries are unrivaled…”

            Bilbo trailed off, realizing that he was rambling. He mumbled a swift apology as Elrond laughed softly. He patted Bilbo’s shoulder reassuringly.

            “No need to be embarrassed, Bilbo,” he said. “It’s nice to meet someone outside of Rivendell who appreciates our libraries. Have you ever been?”

            Bilbo sighed and shook his head mournfully. “I regret to say that I have not been.”

            Elrond hums thoughtfully as they near a building on the outskirts of campus. “Then we will have to make it a point to see that you get there in the near future.”

            Bilbo found himself smiling as he stopped next to the other Omega just outside the doors. The only Omega dorm on campus, Andreth Hall, stood lonely on the border of the campus. It was a modern brick building that looked a bit like a hybrid between an “l” and a “w” with many windows decorating the four story building. The Alpha and Beta dorms were nearer to the central hub of the university, and compared to the barely-there smell of Omegas, the other dorms were small cities to Andreth Hall’s ghost town. There seemed to be some life as Bilbo looked into the large windows that framed the main lobby.

            He watched as Elrond swiped a key card and frowned slightly; none of the other buildings had key card entry. He followed the Omega into the lobby and looked around. The lobby was four stories high, with skylights in the roof to let in natural light. Bilbo’s nose twitched slightly as the familiar, homey scent of other Omegas wafted under his nose. He permitted himself a small smile as Elrond fiddled with a large manila envelope, letting out a soft sound of triumph as he pulled out a smaller envelope. He handed it over to Bilbo.

            “In there is your room key, a key for your mailbox, and a tentative schedule,” Elrond explained as he started walking towards a staircase that went around and up the four-story lobby. He stopped suddenly and said quickly, “Oh, and your school I.D. is in there, too.”

            Bilbo nodded and hurriedly followed him up the stairs, panting a little bit as he struggled to keep up with the long-legged man. Between breaths, he asked, “Why do we need our I.D. card to get into the building?”

            Elrond sighed as he turned down a hallway on the third floor. “The university just wants to make sure that we feel safe while we are at the school,” he clarified gently. “And, there was...an incident, a few years back.”

            Bilbo’s eyes widened and he swallowed nervously as he stuttered out, “An i-incident?”

            They both slowed as Elrond let out a deep breath. He glanced over at Bilbo and nodded a few times.

            “Sadly, yes,” he murmured. “Some of the Alphas decided to come into the Omega building without being in the company of an Omega or having explicit permission from them. They came in, something happened, tempers flared, and by the next morning, an Omega was dead and two Alphas were badly injured.”

            Bilbo flinched sympathetically as he mumbled, “I can see why the extra security was needed then.”

            The other man nodded and said seriously, “The University was seriously considering hiring security guards for the building, but they eventually settled for something different. Now, every Alpha and Beta has to sign a contract that they will not enter the Omega dorm without permission, and they will not touch an Omega with intent to harm.”

            Bilbo arched a brow as they stopped in front of a door near the very end of the hall. “And what happens if they break the contract.”

            “They’re expelled. They aren’t allowed back onto University grounds, which means that someone else generally has to come and pick up the stuff from their dorm room if they lived on campus. And, sometimes, the police are called.”

            “The police have been called?”

            “When the contracts were first introduced, a lot of the students didn’t take them seriously, so they crossed those boundaries without fear of the consequences. The University chancellor wouldn’t have it.”

            Bilbo’s eyes widened. _That’s certainly more than they would do at the Community College,_ Bilbo thought. He could remember a few of the Omegas who went there filing complaints of harassment with the campus police, but there had been nothing done about it; if anything, it had gotten worse.

            They waited there for a moment before Elrond coughed and looked at the envelope pointedly. Bilbo blushed and muttered his apologies as he pulled out a key ring with two keys on it. Decidedly, it was the bigger key that fit into the room’s lock. He gave the key a turn, then turned the knob and stepped into his new home away from home (granted, calling the Sackville-Baggins’ residence a home was something of a stretch).

            The suite’s common room had a small two-person couch and an armchair, both in a sickly green color. As Bilbo walked further in, he realized that the carpet was just a darker variation of the green of the furniture. The entire suite was carpeted, save for the tiled bathroom floor. He looked back at Elrond, who nodded encouragement as he walked to the last door in the suite. He looked in, seeing that it was the double that he would be sharing this year. Elrond came in behind him and set the duffel bag down on the floor near him.

            “I’m sure that you will want some time to put away your things,” he said in an understanding tone. “One of your suitemates is already here, but they’ve gone out. When you get back, you ought to say hi. I’ll be in and out of here for the rest of the day, so if you have any questions, just come downstairs. And we have a meeting tonight in the lobby at eight, so don’t be late.”

            Bilbo nodded, not really paying attention as he stepped further forward to survey his new surroundings. Sure, his Hobbitish nature, as he referred to it as, was telling him that this place really needed a more comforting touch to it, something to make it feel more like a home rather than just a room. There was a loftable bed, a desk, a chair for said desk, an armoire, and a chest of drawers. Yes, he could make this work.

            He turned to say something to Elrond, but he was gone. Bilbo frowned slightly, but shrugged, grateful that he was getting a chance to settle in on his own without someone hovering. He didn’t particularly care for that, but he supposed that it was something that a lot of Betas and Alphas did; Lobelia and Otho had hovered incessantly, driving him halfway insane.

            He let out a breath, finding it somewhat strange that he was able to breathe semi-peacefully. It was strange, but not unpleasant. He kneeled down on the floor and started fumbling with the zipper on his duffel. He set the picture of his parents aside as he pulled out the only sheets that he had been able to bring with him. A thin pillow and comforter followed as he pulled out everything from the duffel bag. Bilbo was quick to put on all the necessary bedding material, trying to make the room seem less impersonal.

He put away all his clothes next, making a mental list of things he would have to buy with the two hundred dollars that he had managed to bring with him: laundry hamper, maybe a new pillow, hangars, some groceries, just to name a few. With his duffel and suitcase now stored at the bottom of the closet, Bilbo put the picture of his parents on the desk alongside his satchel.

He smiled slightly at them, letting out a breath as he touched the frame reverently. “I’m on my way to freedom, Mom. Just like you and Dad wanted for me. I’m on my way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry it's been a little while, and I probably won't post again until December because of finals going on right now for college. So, I got another question for you guys: should Ori be in this fic?   
> I was thinking about it, and because Ori is more Kili and Fili's age in the movie, I was honestly just wondering if I should include him in this fic, except maybe as a baby.  
> If he is in this fanfic, he will be a freshman and 17, and whether or not he is in this fic or the next, he will be with Dwalin. I just don't want Dwalin to be seen as a lecher if he's 40 when Ori is 18.
> 
> So...yeah. Please leave comments about this! I would really appreciate your input. Love you guys lots, and thanks for hanging in there with me!


End file.
